Colonel Mustapha Lahbiri, head of civil protection since 2001, will take over from Hamel, it said.

It gave no details on the reason behind sacking Hamel, who took the job in 2010.

The decision comes ahead of a presidential election in 2019. The ruling FLN party has urged Bouteflika to run for a fifth term. The veteran leader, in office since 1999, has not said yet whether he will stand. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed Editing by Ulf Laessing and Alison Williams)